“You did? Who could that be, since we know all of our relatives and they all live here in Green Springs?”
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. This is a first cousin match and I don’t have any first cousins that I know of. And the only uncle I have is Uncle Sandy and he has no children. Daddy, this person is a forty-year-old black woman from Chicago!”
“You kiddin’ me?” Elijah’s surprise showed as he slipped into the southern accent he’d so carefully worked to eliminate while in the military.
“No, I’m not. Look here.” Barbara Jeanne pulled up her Ancestry account on her phone, clicked on the name sajones, and showed her dad the photo.
“She’s lovely. Forty you say?” Elijah rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I think you need to talk to your Uncle Sandy.”
Chapter 6
As soon as Barbara Jeanne retrieved her car from the valet and started the engine, she put in a call to her uncle. He answered on the second ring.
“Hey, sweetie, how are you?”
“Good! Can I come by your office? I want to talk to you about something.”
“Sure! I don’t have any more meetings this afternoon, so come on by.”
“Okay, see you soon!”
She disconnected the call and headed in the direction of Tupelo to Uncle Sandy’s office.
The Patrick family business was commercial real estate. Uncle Sandy had taken over as CEO about forty years prior, after Grandpa Patrick had suffered a fatal heart attack. As the older brother, it was expected he would take over the company, however, no one had anticipated he’d need to do so at such a young age.
As Barbara Jeanne drove along Highway 78, she thought about how she should approach her uncle. They were extremely close; in fact, he’d often acted as a surrogate father when her daddy had been away on long deployments. Her mother hadn’t wanted to make all the military moves, preferring instead to remain in Green Springs to play the part of a socialite in their small town. Uncle Sandy had been her refuge when her mother couldn’t be bothered with her little girl, preferring to spend her time with the local women’s club, drinking vodka tonics and planning charity events. Barbara Jeanne had often thought it was a shame Uncle Sandy never had children of his own. Instead, he’d poured his time and energy into ensuring the family legacy remained successful, with only a brief marriage that had ended many years ago.
As she approached the parking lot of the Patrick building, Barbara Jeanne was no closer to figuring out how to discuss the possibility of fathering a child some forty years ago with Uncle Sandy. As she entered the lobby, she caught the eye of the receptionist and headed for the elevators. The receptionist waved and picked up the phone to announce her arrival. Once in the elevator, Barbara Jeanne pressed the button for the thirteenth floor, where the executive offices were located. Leave it to Uncle Sandy to buy a building with a lucky thirteenth floor!
She entered the suite of offices and stopped to take a deep breath. Her uncle’s personal assistant greeted her warmly. “Go on in; he’s expecting you.”
“Thanks, Catherine.”
Barbara Jeanne put on her best smile and stuck her head in Uncle Sandy’s office door. He came around his massive mahogany desk and enveloped her in a bear hug. “Hey, you. It’s been a while.”
“I know, I know. I’ve been pretty busy, but something’s come up that I need to talk to you about.”
“This sounds serious. Have a seat and tell me what’s going on.”
Barbara Jeanne sat on the brown leather sofa as her uncle settled into his favorite armchair. She clasped her hands and looked down at her feet, not sure how to begin.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong? You know you can talk to me about anything. Are you and your mother havin’ one of your disagreements?”
“No, nothing like that. Although, it’s gonna be really interesting to see her reaction when what I need to ask you about gets out.”
“Don’t you worry about her. Now I’m curious. What do you need to ask me about?”
“Uncle Sandy, I think you have a daughter,” Barbara Jeanne blurted out.
“Sweetie, you know that’s not possible. You’re the only little girl in my life,” Sandy winked at her.
“Remember Mom gave me and Daddy those DNA test kits and made us send them in?”
Sandy sobered when he saw his niece’s serious expression. “Yes, I remember. She takes the lineage she married into very seriously.”
“Yes, she does. Even though you didn’t take the test with us, I have a family tree documented in the database.” Barbara Jeanne paused and took a deep breath. “I received a notification of a new DNA match a few days ago. Uncle Sandy, I have a first cousin. She’s forty years old and lives in Chicago. Does this make any sense to you?”
Barbara Jeanne heard her uncle’s breath catch and saw a tear form in his eye. After a few seconds, he spoke. “Yes, honey, it does.”
